For someone most people consider a pop star, Pink puts on one hell of a rock 'n' roll show. Her concert at the Mandalay Bay Beach eschewed any conventions of the pop spectacle (except for a single costume change, from a dress to jeans and a T-shirt, before the encore), instead relying on her six-member backing band and the singer's own boundless energy to get the crowd's attention. Even with sand, water and copious alcoholic beverages to distract them, the sizeable audience responded enthusiastically to Pink's 80-minute set, which drew primarily from her new album I'm Not Dead and her breakthrough 2001 album M!ssundaztood.
"I love Britney Spears," she joked before "Don't Let Me Get Me," and indeed the comparison to Spears that song railed against has never seemed less apt. Taking the stage wearing sunglasses and brandishing a riding crop (perhaps a tribute to Madonna's current equestrian-obsessed tour?), Pink was clearly at home in front of the audience, repeatedly proclaiming her love of Vegas (hometown of her husband, Carey Hart) and bantering with the crowd. Like a true rock rebel, she had no regard for the rules, throwing a "Do Not Step" sign into the audience and daring to stand on the speaker cabinet it had adorned.
Her guitarist looked like he could have been a refugee from a Journey cover band and added a few bitchin' solos to Pink's already guitar-heavy tunes. The rest of the band was equally capable—perhaps too much so, as they occasionally drowned out Pink's voice in the mix. As might be expected at a temporary outdoor venue, the sound was sometimes muddy, especially on the louder tunes.
And loud they were. Pink's rock-star attitude went well with her mostly guitar-driven music; "18 Wheeler" and "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" were especially meaty. Virtually all of the singer's hits—even "There You Go," from her dance-pop first album—made appearances, but the highlight of the show was probably her tribute to mentor Linda Perry, via a cover of "What's Up?," by Perry's old band 4 Non Blondes. "You don't even have to like me to like this song," Pink said before launching into the familiar tune that had the whole audience singing along.
It wasn't only the karaoke moments that got their attention, though—even the two-song acoustic set in the encore, with the bluesy "The One That Got Away" and the anti-Dubya "Dear Mr. President" worked well, and by the time a tipsy Pink forgot some of the words to closer "Get the Party Started," everyone was too revved up to care. The show ended, but the party was clearly just beginning.